LBSU Men's Track and Field Team Claims Three Big West Awards

Following the Long Beach State men’s track and field team’s third straight Big West Championship in Riverside Saturday, two players and coach Andy Slythe (pictured left) also claimed three of the major Big West awards, conference officials announced Wednesday.

Senior Cameron Glasgow received the league’s Track Athlete of the Year honor, while junior Willie Alexander was selected as the Field Athlete of the Year. Slythe was also honored with his third consecutive Men’s Coach of the Year award.

Glasgow—a Santa Maria native—is the second 49er to receive the Track Athlete of the Year award, having secured 18 individual points at the conference championships and helped add 16 points as a member of the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

He also won the 400m in 46.39 seconds, a personal record and the fastest winning 400m time at the championships since 2008, officials said.

Alexander—an NCAA runner-up in the long jump last year, and a Fresno native—helped the Beach claim its third-straight conference championship with 18 points.

Officials said the junior took home the Big West title as he notched a personal-best 25 to 05.5 to win the event by more than two and a half feet.

Under Sythe’s watch, athletes produced 17 all-conference performances, including eight first-place finishes that came in all three event areas: field, sprints and distance.

The 2015 LBSU men’s squad has been ranked among the top 10 in every U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coach's Association (USTFCCCA) West Region Poll, climbing as high as Number 3 and will enter the NCAA West Preliminary Championships at Number 9, officials said.

In addition to his six career Big West Coach of the Year awards, Sythe has mentored 13 Big West Athletes of the Year and four freshman of the year.